Zee Entertainment's spending on ZEE5 reaches Rs 6,000 crore
has invested over Rs 6,000 crore in its over-the-top (OTT) platform,
ZEE5
, since its launch in February 2018, according to a senior company executive.
The company is now focused on reducing ZEE5's losses and guiding the platform toward breakeven, with a target to achieve this in FY26. In FY25, ZEE5 reduced its EBITDA loss to Rs 548 crore from Rs 1,105 crore a year earlier, while revenue grew 6% to Rs 976 crore.
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'The reality is that there has been a lot of investment in the company in the past, but mostly in ZEE5. About Rs 6,000 crore plus cash has been invested or gone towards ZEE5,' said Vikas Somani, Head – Strategy & Investor Relations at Zee, during the "Ask Me Anything" conference call on July 3.
Reflecting on past strategy, Somani acknowledged that ZEE5 had once relied too heavily on content spending in hopes of rapid subscriber growth.
'Unlike in the past, where Zee followed the herd mentality and believed that heavy investment in content would automatically bring in subscribers — that's not the trick anymore. We've now devised our own strategy, and that's how we are approaching it. It's still early days since the launch of our multi-language packs, but the results have been promising, and that gives us confidence for the future,' he said.
Deputy CEO and CFO Mukund Galgali said the company is not just looking to break even, but to establish a clear path to profitability. 'A lot of investments have gone into this business, and we don't want to talk about breakeven alone. It is actually about achieving profitability,' Galgali noted.
The company has set FY26 as the target year for break-even in its digital segment and is taking steps to support that objective. 'We have recently launched seven language-specific content packs on ZEE5 in seven Indian languages. This will be our differentiator and USP. I believe we are in a sweet spot to cater to mass audiences in India — something no other OTT platform has provided so far,' Galgali said.
The company also plans to triple the volume of content on ZEE5 compared to last year, expanding its multilingual catalog to increase reach and relevance. However, the company does not expect a significant increase in content spending, anticipating only moderate growth.
'We have enhanced our content library by expanding into multiple languages, and this will only increase. That clearly remains a focus area for us. Sports, of course, will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis,' Galgali said.
Zee Entertainment
Chief Content Officer Raghavendra Hunsur said that over the next two months, the company plans to launch around 30 shows on its linear TV platforms and more than 10 on ZEE5.
'So we have lots of mini-series happening — which doesn't mean small in size. It means deep in stories and authenticity, but the stories are told not with mindless extravaganza, but with a deeper understanding of culture and the needs of the market. And that's on ZEE5,' he added.
Zee
has also invested in a new short-form content platform called Bullet, which will be available in multiple Indian languages. 'This is a new concept. Even in the beta testing phase, we are among the top 15 entertainment apps. So, we look forward to building this as one of our key products,' Galgali said.
Hunsur said the platform will be offering 161 micro-dramas through Bullet. 'It's 161 micro-dramas — 60 seconds, 60 episodes kind of content,' he explained.
Somani said the company is developing Bullet as a short-form content platform and sees it as a future growth driver.
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